NCJ Number
138169
Date Published
1988
Length
345 pages
Annotation
Canadian Bill C127 came into force in January 1983 and significantly changed the Criminal Code with respect to sexual assault, and a study was undertaken to assess the incidence of sexual assault in Montreal before and after the reform.
Abstract
The 1983 reform was based on four key principles: protection of the integrity of the person, protection of children and special groups, public decency, and elimination of sexual discrimination. Methodological problems arose in studying the reform's impact. In particular, for a number of topics studied, it was impossible to know the precise situation prevailing before C127 came into effect and thus to make rigorous before-and-after comparisons. Also, researchers had no way of verifying the direct cause-and- effect connection between C127 and subsequent changes. Nonetheless, data were obtained from police files on all complaints involving sex for the years 1981, 1982, 1984, and 1985; 740 cases were used in the analysis. Results demonstrated that sexual assault victims were afraid to report due to shame, guilt, fear of reprisal, uneasiness about the justice system, and inability to overcome the psychological block. Just over half of all sexual assaults were apparently reported to the police and, in almost 50 percent of these cases, the event was reported by persons other than victims. Since 1983, there was an increase in the number of victimized minors and in the number of sexual assaults involving persons who knew each other. Police practices showed no significant improvement after the reform, and activities connected with the reform's objectives seemed to occur less frequently. For example, transportation of victims to the hospital declined slightly after 1983. Further, the reform did not substantially change court action or the judicial process. Supplemental information in the study procedures, instruments, and findings is appended. 74 tables and 6 figures